“When Home is the Street”

This year CODENI collaborated with the International Center for Research and Policy on Childhood (CIESPI for its initials in Portuguese, www.ciespi.org.br), in the production of a documentary about youth who have lived on the streets in Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro. The film was produced by Brazilian filmmaker Thereza Jessouroun, and paid for by The Fetzer Institute.

The documentary was first shown in Fetzer’s Global Gathering in Assisi, Italy on September 20, 2012. In Mexico the film premiered at the National Forum of the Mexican Alliance of Street Populations on November 16th. In this event, one of the film’s main protagonists from Mexico City commented on the problems of discrimination and human rights violations faced by street populations and answered questions after the showing.

The Fetzer Institute (www.fetzer.org) engages with people from around the world to foster awareness of the power of love, forgiveness and compassion in our global community.  This documentary was produced as a nonprofit project with the purpose of promoting a change of consciousness towards street populations, by showing how love and forgiveness have impacted their lives.

The film’s trailer can be viewed through the following link and copies are available upon request at CODENI. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tln2KL81oYo

CODENI Market

On October 25 CODENI held its traditional market day in which the children and parents with outstanding participation during the semester are invited to purchase clothing, shoes, household goods and toys donated to the organization with “CODENI pesos.”

Each participant receives CODENI coupons which they exchange for products in each of the different stands set up in Casa CODENI. 

The event also included the raffle of a cell phone which was received in the donations. The winner was 17-year-old, Laura Juan Rosalio.

We were fortunate to have the help of an excellent team of volunteers from different schools who set up and worked the stands during the event.

Congratulations to all the participants and thanks to the volunteers!

CODENI Day of the Dead Party

On November 1, CODENI hosted a party to celebrate Day of the Dead and bring children, teens and parents together to enjoy an evening of dancing, refreshments and fun.

The party had lights and sounds, compliments of DJ Dany and DJ XOXO who created an atmosphere enjoyed by participants of all ages and full dance floor in the central patio of Casa CODEN for three hours straight.

Keeping with the tradition initiated last year, the dress code was “costumes”. Our super volunteer, Erandi, accompanied by a few teens, opened a make-up stand to prepare participants for the costume contest.

 The contest had over 30 participants. In the end, Panchito, the baby witch and Ramis were deemed the winners with applause and cheers from the crowd.

  

CODENI participant wins first prize in statewide sculpture contest

Nine-year-old Duilio Mejíaz won first prize in the Contest of Young Sculptors in the October Festivals in Guadalajara.

During the month of October professional sculptors incorporated a child or teen into their work teams, teaching them the trade of sculpting and guiding them in the production of his or her own piece.

Duilio joined the team of local sculptors Ulises Sánchez and Andrés Arámbula, who accompanied him in the production of the winning piece: Cara de elefante.

The awards ceremony took place on November 3^rd in Plaza Liberación, where Duilio was recognized with a diploma, toys and an awards dinner.

Duilio’s mentors, Andrés and Ulises, also won second and third place in the professionals’ category of the competition.

Congratulations to all three sculptors!

CODENI artists recognized in drawing contest

Mariana Miguel from CODENI won second place in the drawing contest entitled “Directing my future”, organized by the Secretary of Public Security for the state of Jalisco. She received a Tablet and a paint set at the awards ceremony.

Mariana is 15 years old and just entered high school this year. She attends Circle CODENI twice a week as well as the art workshops in Casa CODENI each Saturday. In the CODENI art workshop she has taken classes in painting, watercolor, graffiti and drawing. Mariana participated in the contest along with three other participants from CODENI.

Mariana says she likes to draw because “it’s how I express myself.” Her drawings include a wider range of designs and styles and she enjoys adding details to illustrations already made. “I like to add my imaginative touch to the designs I find,” she explains.

Marco Almaguer and Javier Meza, also participants in CODENI, received Honorific Mentions for the drawings they entered in the contest and left the awards ceremony new backpacks.

Mairo Diego is responsible for the implementation of art workshops in CODENI and has detected great artistic talent among CODENI participants, inviting them to improve their skills in CODENI and participate in public contests, expos and contribute to the decor of Casa CODENI with murals in the classrooms and the central patio.

Congratulations once again to Mariana, Marco and Javier!

Empowerment: new area in CODENI

In July CODENI opened the area of Empowerment with the objective of promoting critical thought among our participants, thereby empowering them to make decisions to overcome poverty and improve their quality of life.

Maira Deni offers empowerment workshops with each age group (children, teens and parents), where participants are able to detect and plan a way to access different opportunities and thus accomplish short, medium and long-term goals.

Among the different activities in the workshops are dynamics to strengthen self-esteem and empathy with the activity “Drawing my strengths” in which participants draw their silhouettes on butcher paper which their classmates fill with strengths and other positive qualities that they identify in each participant.

Other dynamics have come from the concerns and interests of the participants, such as a fieldtrip to a local museum where they came up with ideas for future dynamics.

In the words of Maira Deni, “the activities in the area of Empowerment contribute little by little to the participants’ ability to freely express their desires and aspirations, motivating them to set and accomplish goals and take responsibility for their actions and decisions, in other words, empower themselves.”

There are no limits for what CODENI participants can accomplish!

Come join the CODENI Circus!

This summer our children and teens participated in summer courses with the theme of circus arts. Activities included juggling, acrobatic dance on hanging fabrics, stilts and professional face painting.

The acrobatic dance is one of the activities that generated high interest among the children, as they have learned to climb nearly two stories and do choreography in the air as their skills improve.

The activities in the juggling classes included equipment such as pins, balancing poles, balls and rings. For the stilts lessons the children take turns being spotted by the instructor and an educator. Little by little they learned to balance themselves and have greater confidence at new heights.

In the face-painting class, children learned to paint their own faces and those of others. Themes have included different animals, injuries, zombies, ferries and mimes.

During the summer we also held artistic workshops with different techniques such as sketching, oil painting and water colors.

The final show took place on Friday, August  17^th, where participants showed  off their new skills and routines to parents, staff and other members of the CODENI community.

CODENI graduation and scholarships

Once again CODENI held its annual graduation in July where we recognized participants who have earned scholarships for next school year. On this occasion the event took place in the auditorium Patio de los Ángeles in downtown Guadalajara.

In the event, each of the educators took a moment to thank and congratulate the families and children for having completed yet another year of their formal education and encouraged them to continue reaching their goals.

Elementary, middle and high school graduates were then recognized and scholarships were handed out to the children and teens who have demonstrated outstanding participation during the past year in school and in Codeni. Thanks to their “godparents” who sponsor these scholarships each year, they will be able to buy all that they need for the new school year: uniforms, shoes, backpacks, notebooks, etc.

For the 2012-2013 school year, 84 participants in CODENI earned scholarships, marking a new record since the program began in 2007. Each month more children enter CODENI determined to increase this number even more next school year.  

Congratulations to the scholarship winners and thanks to the godparents for making this program such a success!

Recreation

In CODENI we have experienced some changes in the Recreation area, including the integration of “Mairo Fernando” to the team as the new coordinator of this area. With his arrival the activities have taken on a new rhythm and generated interest and different expectations from the children in CODENI, who are feeling more and more a part of the activities with Fernando.

Soccer, interactive games based on mental exercises, songs, taekwondo, foosball and games to improve coordination are some of the activities that Fernando has been implementing during his first month in CODENI. 

CODENI Workshops

Our workshops area has a new coordinator who is expanding the creative and productive activities that we offer to our children. The population has shown great interest and enthusiasm in the new dynamics.

“Mairo Leo” is teaching the teenagers to work with leather. They are currently making wallets. Each participant is designing their own wallet, cutting the patterns, adding accessories and decorating their final product.

Our younger children continue in the final phase of the puppet workshop where they are making puppets and rehearsing each week in CODENI for a final production at the end of the course. They have also been making piñatas. They begin by making the center container to hold the candy with a balloon, paper and glue. Once it dries, each child paints and decorates their piñata as they like.

Adolescents paint a new mural in Casa CODENI

We are pleased to present our new mural in the main patio of Casa CODENI. The mural represents the effort of CODENI to promote a change of consciousness in the families who participate in CODENI to help them overcome their dependence on the streets. The images come from two photographs taken by Josh Meltzer, who was with CODENI on a Fulbright scholarship in 2008-2009.

The part under the stairs represents the work of the families in the streets, while the part above the stairs reflects their great efforts to better their lives and accomplish their dreams through education.

The painting was made possible with the direction and collaboration of locally renowned artist, César Plasencia, who accompanied three adolescents who participate in CODENI’s artistic expression workshop: Mariana Miguel, Marco Almaguer and Lorenzo Juárez. Educator Diego Ayala, who leads the course, coordinated the project.

The mural was produced by mixing techniques of acrylic and spray painting on a pencil sketch.  

What’s new in CODENI so far in 2012?

Education: During this quarter, we implemented a multimedia workshop to improve the writing and reading skills of our children in 1st and 2nd grade. We also began an English workshop for teenagers thanks to a volunteer team from the American Consulate.

We continue with the participation of over one hundred children in the homework help club and personalized tutoring.  Additionally, with the help of our volunteers, in this period we developed a resource center with specialized exercises to attend specific academic needs of each child.

Workshops:  Children from ages 6 to 12 have been participating in art and puppet-making workshops this quarter.  They have created kites, crepe paper characters, clown masks and sock monkeys.

Meanwhile our teenagers are involved in life projects and preventive and educational workshops addressing risks such as teen pregnancy, HIV, drug addictions and bullying.

On Saturdays, children and teens participate in photography, percussion and urban art workshops.

Recreation: Though different games and interactive dynamics we are reinforcing the values and rights taught in the workshops area.  In December, we completed a new manual for the recreation area with more than 150 recreational dynamics with pedagogical basis.

During their spare time, boys and girls enjoy different games in the playroom, including football, puzzles and Match.

Street outreach: In the first quarter of 2012, the Street Outreach Team has been sought to strengthen and reinforce bonds with the population of child laborers in the streets of downtown. Three nights per week the team offers basic educational support and recreational activities to children and teenagers who work in this part of the city.

There are currently around 25 children and teens participating in this space each afternoon, of which 10 are ready to enter the second phase of our programs in Casa CODENI.

NUTRITION NOW IN CODENI

Starting in April, CODENI began a program of nutritional counseling for our families. The aim of the program is to promote healthier dietary habits, according to the needs and lifestyles of each family and individual. Thanks to the support of two volunteers studying nutrition at the UNIVA university, families have access to personal consultations and monthly follow ups.  So far the program has been a great success!  Here’s to a healthier CODENI community!